Tag Archives: blooming pear tree

The pear tree produces beautiful white blossoms that delight our eyes early in spring in the mountain valleys of Virginia. They are blooming all over the Roanoke Valley. Often we call them the Bradford pear or Callery pear. The flowers are produced in early spring before leaves expand fully. They are white, with five petals, and about 0.79 to 1.2 inches in diameter. Flowers have a sickly-sweet smell. The fruit is small, hard, and almost woody until softened by frost. Humans don’t eat them, but birds consume them enthusiastically. Bradford pear trees often push out native American plants and trees. On the Bradford pear tree, limbs grow upward from the main branch at an angle so narrow that hard winds break limbs from the tree. Rarely, will you see an intact mature Bradford pear tree.

Today, many municipalities and individuals who want the spring-time beauty of a flowering Bradford tree buy and plant the Cleveland Select pear tree. Cleveland Select pear tree is a genetically-improved variety that grows in a uniform globe shape. The Cleveland select tree is strong because of its limb structure. It withstands ice on branches and/or strong winds without breaking or coming apart because limbs grow at an optimal (45-60 degrees) – rather than a too narrow (5-15 degrees) – angle from the trunk or central leader (limb) of the tree.

Application:

When something is optimal, it is best, ideal, finest, or most advantageous. The opposite of optimal is worst. On a continuum between optimal and worst Christ-like behavior, there are a lot of points, i.e., a lot of distance between optimal and worst. Unlike the Cleveland Select pear tree limbs that are strong because they are at a larger angle from the tree’s main leader, Christians aren’t stronger when there is a lot of distance between them and God. Closeness counts in a relationship with God.

Words from today’s church liturgy were: “Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth: You have given us the spirit of discipline, that we may triumph over the flesh and live no longer for ourselves but for Christ.” Aren’t they food for thought? God has given us a spirit of discipline. We have the choice to exercise or not exercise that spirit. No one can say, “The Devil made me do it.”

Reflection: What kind of limbs do you want to grow on your tree of life?

I love Bible plants along with their symbolism. If you want to learn more about them, read my two books: 1) Rooted in God and 2) God as a Gardener. You can purchase them from my website: Carolyn Roth Ministry at http://www.CarolynRothMinistry.com/